Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-10-11

SOmm nl01f'0 MnIInOuSs
BE Has OWNED MORE MILES OF RAILROAD THAN
ANY OTHER NAN IN THE COUNTRY.
From the New York sun
John Blair, the witness before the Pacific Rail-
road Commission last week, is one Of the oldest
characters In the country. He is already beyond
the regulation three-scoTe and ten but looks after
his ten or more millions as vigorously as he used
10 manage his dollars when he was q poor but
thrifty youngster In Warren County, N. Y. He
made his own start In life and got his first taste
OF wealth from some railroad building in Warren
county: The bulk OF his fortune, however he
scheme was TO get up company TO build a road
sn,roagn new territory. Then he got the people
along an the line to chip in enough to pay
the work being done by a construction
company, which was him In another form. Bonds
the bonds was issued TO his COMPANY, which was
ass also niinsel The building up OF the country by
the road made the stock valuable and John l. Blair
ROAD Than any man in the country, Vanderbilt
not excepted. He built the town or Blairstown,
r de yes IN sody Ssa1
In New Jersey. To get to IL and away from 1t he
quilt the Blairstown railroad, the chief business
He Is the hero OF innuinerable quaint anecdotes.
A son lives in fine style at Belvedere, n. j. once
AM friend seeing the son drive gorgeous eauipage
shade, remarked on the difference.
swell, you see." said the millionaire dryly, ."
u
once out West some OF his men were arrested,
aud when he wanted to go bail for them the judge,
not impressed by his rather rough exterior, In
sisted on SINE evidence OF his reliability as u
bondsInan. The old man trOtted out a few hun
dred Thousand dollars worth OF Government bonds
that he had handy, and offered to produce several
millions OF good railroad bonds II he was given q
rev hours more notice.
once he ran on the republican ticket for COVER
nor OF New Jersey. The agreement was that he
was to furnish the money ana the politicians the
experience. He was not elected, and at the end or
the campaign he had the experience and the poll
t1cians had big heap OF the money. II was then
that he told his famous anecdOte OF the Western
man who drove lot OF hogs from st. Louis, where
hogs were low, TO Chicago, where they were high.
and finding that before he got there the hog mar
ket had twisted around so That swine were higher
In ST. Louis than In Chicago drove the hogs back
again. getting TO st. Louis just In time TO strike
depression In tue 81. Louis hog market, which was
matched by an elevation at Chicago. The man
said, so the story went, that he hadn't made much
money out or II, but he had had the society or the
hogs.
swell, I'm like that Teller, said Blair. 81 haven't
been elected governor, but I've had the society OF
the hogs"
Blair has dabbled in politics some since then but
MS experience was not lost. His contributors 10
campaign funds have never exceeded generosity.
lie Was delegate from New Jersey to tine conven-
ton that nominated Blaine, and on the way out lie
kept whole carload or young politicians up al
night by telling them funny stories In the
morning he was the freshest and heartieSt man In
the car.
He travels all over the country alone, as freely
as though he were nearer eighteen than eighty